The Sultanate's producer price index (PPI)-based inflation rose by 17.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2018, over the same period of last year, mainly driven by a surge in oil and gas prices by 20.6 per cent and non-oil products prices by 5.5 per cent, according to the latest statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Among oil and gas products, refined products shot up by 39 per cent while crude oil and natural gas price soared by 17.9 per cent.

Among non-oil products, the prices of the manufacturing group rose by 7.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2018 while there was a one per cent fall in the prices of mining, electricity and water group index.

Among different sub-groups in the manufacturing sector, the prices of most of the product groups rose at varying degrees. Metal products, machinery and equipment recorded an increase of 18.2 per cent and transportable goods by 5.3 per cent while producer prices of the food, beverages and textile products marginally increased by 0.8 per cent.

The price index of food, beverages and textiles products group mainly driven by a growth in prices of “beverages products” by 10.1 per cent, “dairy products” by 6.4 per cent, “bakery and other food products” by 0.3 per cent. Prices of “fish, fruit, vegetables and oils products” and “clothing, textiles and footwear products” fall by 6.6 per cent and one per cent respectively.

Among transportable goods group, producer price index of “gases, acids and polypropylene products” rose by 12.3 per cent, “rubber and plastic products” by 7.1 per cent, “wood and paper products” by 2.9 per cent and “products of furniture, jewellery manufacturing and anti-melted metal waste” by 0.3 per cent. This was in contrast to the decline in the prices of “paints and pharmaceutical products” by 3.2 per cent and “products of glass, cement and marble” by 0.1 per cent, the NCSI bulletin added.

The price index of metal, machinery and equipment group mainly driven by a growth in prices of “raw metals and steel/aluminium products” by 25 per cent, “distribution and delivery of electricity apparatus and recording tapes and CDs” by 21.3 per cent and “fabricated products of steel or aluminum” by 1.4 per cent.